Qatar lets
contracts for 6-8 LNG tankers
Sep 2, 2005 LOS ANGELES, CA, United States UPI
Qatar Gas Transport Co. will pay between $1.38 billion and $1.84
billion for liquid natural gas tankers to export the commodity.
QGTC plans on letting contract for six to eight LNG tankers at a cost
of about $230 million each.
QGTC expects to name the winning bids and sign a construction deal in
October, the Oil & Gas Journal reported Thursday.
The tankers, which will ship the LNG to Britain, will be operated by a
joint venture of Qatar Petroleum, ExxonMobil Corp. and Total SA, a
French energy company.
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Russia delivers first
LNG shipment to U.S.
Sep 2, 2005, 20:30 GMT
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COVE POINT, MD, United States (UPI) -- Russia delivered its first
liquid natural gas shipment to a Maryland port Friday for Royal Dutch
Shell PLC.
The tanker Castillo de Vellalba brought 60,000 tons of LNG, equivalent
to 2.825 billion cubic feet of gas.
Gazprom Marketing & Trading Ltd, a marketing company of Russia`s
state-owned Gazprom, and Shell Western LNG BV, delivered the commodity
to an LNG import terminal at Cove Point, Md.
'The main U.S. LNG trading ground is located in Louisiana and we want
to be as close to it as possible,' a Gazprom official said. 'But we are
also considering other venues for our representative office, for
example, in Houston, Texas.'
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Iran's LNG export to
India finalized
September 03, 2005 - ©2005 IranMania.com
Secretary of Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Larijani said
"The issue of exporting Iran's Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) to India has
been finalized." The SNSC secretary made the comment after arriving in
Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport from India.
LONDON, September 3 (IranMania) - Secretary of Supreme National
Security Council (SNSC) Ali Larijani said "The issue of exporting
Iran's Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) to India has been finalized." The SNSC
secretary made the comment after arriving in Tehran's Mehrabad
International Airport from India.
LArijani said that the issue of exporting Iran's LNG to India through
Pakistan and creating a transit route, as well as other political
issues were the axis of his talks with Indian officials, according to
IRNA.
Larijani added, Iran and India believe the unused capacities in their
political, economics and cultural fields should be defined and take
full advantage us in a bid to boost bilateral ties, upon creating
sustainable stability in the region.
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US waives Jones
Act in Katrina aftermath
By OGJ editors HOUSTON, Sept. 2
The US Department of Homeland Security has waived the Jones Act,
allowing foreign-flagged vessels to transport cargos between US ports.
Homeland Security Sec. Michael Chertoff signed the waiver on Sept. 2.
No details were provided on how long the waiver would be effective. The
waiver will add flexibility to an oil transportation system hobbled by
storm-related impairment to the operation of several key pipelines. The
Jones Act also is known as the Merchant Marine Act of 1920.
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BG Group and partners
first LNG from Egyptian LNG Train 2
BG Group and its partners, PETRONAS, the Egyptian General Petroleum
Corporation (EGPC) and the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS)
today announced the start-up of Egyptian LNG Train 2, some nine months
ahead of schedule. Early cargoes from the new facility will be lifted
later this year by BG Group and Asean LNG Trading Company Limited
(ALTCO), a subsidiary of PETRONAS.
Speaking today, Stuart Fysh, BG Group's Managing Director for the
Mediterranean Basin and Africa, said: "We are delighted to announce the
start-up of ELNG Train 2, some nine months ahead of schedule. This,
along with the early delivery of Train 1 by more than three months,
sets a new benchmark for the delivery of a green-field LNG project.
"It also represents a significant milestone in the development of the
Egyptian natural gas industry and an outstanding achievement for BG
Group and the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum. The early delivery of
this project will create substantial additional value for Egypt, BG and
our partners," Fysh said.
The entire 3.6 million tonne per annum (mtpa) output of the second
train has been sold to BG Gas Marketing under a 20 year sales and
purchase agreement.
Notes to Editors: BG Group is a global natural gas business.
Active on five continents in over 20 countries, it operates four
business segments - Exploration & Production, Liquefied Natural
Gas, Transmission & Distribution and Power Generation.
BG is an important participant in the development of the gas business
in Egypt, with both upstream and downstream investments. It has
interests in two gas producing areas offshore the Nile Delta - the
Rosetta fields and the West Delta Deep Marine (WDDM) Concession. The
first WDDM fields - Scarab and Saffron - started production in March
2003. The Simian Sienna field commenced production on 15 April 2005 and
the Sapphire field in WDDM is currently being commissioned to supply
the $1.9 billion Egyptian LNG project.
In July 2005, BG Egypt signed two new concession agreements for the El
Manzala and El Burg Offshore Areas. BG holds a 100 per cent interest in
the El Manzala Offshore Concession Area and a 70 per cent interest in
the El Burg Concession Area with PETRONAS holding the remaining 30 per
cent. BG is the operator of both concessions.
The first cargo from Egyptian LNG Train 1 was lifted on 29 May 2005 by
ALTCO, a subsidiary of PETRONAS. Partners in Egyptian LNG Train 1
include; BG Group (35.5%), PETRONAS (35.5%), the Egyptian Natural Gas
Holding Company (12.0%), the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation
(12.0%) and Gaz de France (5.0%).
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NGV Worldwide News
02-09-2005
Bangladesh NGVs market
27,000 growing
There are more than 27,000 vehicles that have been converted to CNG and
there are 100 CNG refueling stations in this country
Traffic has greatly increased during the last years. Bangladesh cities
and roads are crowded by thousand of private vehicles, taxis,
rickshaws, and buses causing traffic jams. Workshops are also affected
by the NGV growth, with daily increasing amount of conversions.
Furthermore, during the last months refueling stations are being set up
in the cities of Dhaka , Chittagong , Narayanganj, Gazipur, Comilla,
and Sylhet.
Dominican Republic
introducing CNG
The company Tropigas Dominicana announced that alliances will be made
with international companies for CNG transmission and commercialization
as a way to face the constant increase of oil barrel price as well as
its by-products. Hence facilities will be enlarged and modernized,
truck fleets will be renewed, and a quality control plan will be set up
for its products.
This company’s executives talked about details during the celebration
of Tropigas’ 50 th anniversary, event which was attended by major
political authorities, lawmakers, businessmen, and industrial people.
Argentina Deadline
delay for contingency insurance for refueling stations
The deadline for this service was delayed for another 30 banking days
as from August 25. It is a regulation of the National Gas Regulating
Body (Enargas), number 2629/02, which enforced a contingency insurance
for CNG refueling stations. The deadline was delayed because some
insurance companies did not have a policy within their services and
they had to adapt one to offer the new customers.
The resolution passed on 2002 established a minimum insured amount of
200 thousand pesos. However, a new regulation, 3224/05, decreased this
amount since it was considered “appropriate to establish a contingency
insurance as only means of guaranteeing the fulfillment of obligations
by CNG refueling stations, establishing a reduction of the amount to 50
thousand pesos.”
This resolution establishes, as well, that operators of stations with
leasing contracts who have a guarantee in favor of the Sub-secretary of
Fuels –dependency of the Secretary of Energy- should also endorse the
policy on behalf of Enargas “to avoid unnecessary economic
expenditures.”
Bolivia PV North gas
pipe network is enlarged
Works to enlarge the transport capacity of the so-called north gas pipe
network were officially inaugurated. This will soon allow the injection
of 1.8 million m³ of natural gas, mainly destined for the north and
center areas of the country. Works will end in two months approximately
and they will total an amount of 234 kilometers loops in eight
sections. Furthermore, three new compressor plants are foreseen and
other facilities will be adapted to allow meeting the sharp increase of
fluid demand that has taken place during these last years. The
inauguration was presided by the Minister of Federal Planning, Julio de
Vido. The national officer mentioned they are negotiating trades with
the government of Bolivia . “We will import gas and export technology.
We are preparing a draft for the following Bolivian government to take
it into account,” he said.
Gas transportation will amount to 200,000 m³/d in Salta , 700,000 in
Tucumán, and 900,000 in Córdoba, totaling 1.8 million m³/d to the
current capacity of the pipe network.
Bolivia Diesel
vehicle imports banned give way to NGVs
According to President Carlos Mesa’s decree, diesel light vehicle
imports will be restricted. The target of this initiative is to give
way to thousand NGVs. Imports are banned of new as well as used (car,
van, minibus, and truck) vehicles, with a cylinder capacity less or
equal to 4,000 cm³.
Vehicles which will not be affected by this decree are those which by
the enforcement time are placed in free zones or customs areas to be
nationalized or imported, and they shall be granted a two months term
to be nationalized.
Italy Tax reduction
motivates CNG conversions
Altero Matteoli, Minister of Environment said that Minister of
Industry, Claudio Scajola, is analyzing a project to try to bring fuel
prices to a halt. In a short time, the government will promote tax
reductions for the amount of 20,000 euros for gasoline users to switch
to less polluting fuels as methane. With this purpose, he assured
nuclear energy is not the solution to resources shortage in Italy ,
mainly because it takes a long time to build and develop power plants,
while the energy deficit of the country demands “fast solutions.” That
is how natural gas becomes the best alternative.
France Targets CNG
expansion by 2010
According to the French Association for Natural Gas Vehicles (AFGNV),
there will be a sharp increase in vehicles running on this fuel. The
number of buses will double (to 3,200), trucks will triple (to 900) and
private vehicles will increase to 100,000. This association, together
with the French government, and major OEMs will join their efforts to
achieve this forecast in duly time.
Hence a target of 300 stations dispensing compressed natural gas (CNG)
was set. The company Gaz de France is also planning a major push into
the home refueling market.
Government participation in the agreement is essential to increase
energy diversification, reduce greenhouse gases, and improve air
quality. Thus, tax incentives for vehicle and fuel purchases are
foreseen. Other signatories to the agreement include OEMs Peugeot
Citroën and Renault.
Thailand CNG option to the
“uncontrollable” oil price
Bangkok ’s transport authorities are planning to convert 1,000 buses to
CNG before the end of the year, in order to avoid diesel purchase.
Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, showed concern for the high oil
prices, which he referred to as “uncontrollable”. As a consequence, he
declared to be in favor of alternatives like natural gas. “ He said the
country is in urgent need of NGV cylinders locally manufactured and
setting up of more NGV stations,” highlighted the main government
authority of Thailand .
Israel High oil prices
motivate government NGV incentives
The Minister of Infrastructure recently highlighted that a sharp
increase in the number of cars fuelled by compressed natural gas is
expected in the coming years. “We expect ten thousand cars will be
using compressed natural gas within a matter of two to three years,”
predicted Deputy Vladimir Nemirovsky. Currently Israel has only a few
hundred cars running on natural gas. After a new system is finally
determined to obtain tax exemptions for imported natural-gas-powered
cars, the demand is expected to increase noticeably. At present only
cars that are converted locally in Israel receive an exemption.
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India's LNG
plants
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/07/04/
By 2008, there could be two small liquefied natural gas manufacturing
plants, to be run by Australia's Liquified Natural Gas Ltd, to meet the
requirement of India and South-East Asia, according to a report in the
Lloyd's List.
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Mexico's Fox
Discusses LNG Imports with Nigeria's President
Business News Americas (BNamericas.com) 9/7/2005 URL:
http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=25089
Mexico plans to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Nigeria, local
press quoted President Olusegun Obasanjo as saying in a press
conference during his state visit to Mexico City. Obasanjo held private
talks with Mexico's President Vicente Fox and the senate president
Enrique Jackson on Monday.
Both countries will start negotiations to increase bilateral
cooperation in the energy sector and plan to create a special
commission to start work in four months, papers quoted Obasanjo as
saying.
Mexico and Nigeria will work together to reduce the impact of high oil
prices on refined products, but Mexican energy secretary sources did
not provide details about any existing agreements between the countries.
Nigeria is the largest oil producer in Africa and the world's seventh
largest.
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Putin
Confirms That Siberian Oil Pipeline Will First Go to China
AFX News Limited 9/7/2005 URL:
http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=25086
Russian president Vladimir Putin has confirmed that a
multibillion-dollar oil pipeline to be built across Siberia will first
go to China and only later to the Pacific coast, the Wall Street
Journal reported in its online edition.
Japan and China have been vying over the route of the pipeline, which
will eventually pump as many as one million barrels of Siberian oil a
day to East Asia.
So far, Russia has refused to commit on which customer would get
deliveries when.
But in a meeting with Western analysts and journalists in the Kremlin
late Monday, Putin said shipments initially will go to China's oil
center in Daqing, the Journal reported, citing one of the participants.
"The Daqing pipeline will be built first," Putin was reported as
telling the group. "But we will also build to Nakhodka," he said,
referring to Russia's port on the Pacific coast that would enable
shipments to Japan.
Putin said that by sending oil to Daqing, Russia will be able to
diversify export routes and avoid becoming dependent on a single
customer for its oil. "We want to sell to the whole Asia-Pacific
region," he said.
Construction of the pipeline is to begin late this year, with the first
stage of the line carrying 30 mln metric tons of crude annually from
Taishet in Siberia to Skovorodino near the Chinese border.
From there, a pipeline is expected to take two-thirds of the oil south
to Daqing, while the remaining 10 mln metric tons would be shipped by
rail to a new port to be built on the Pacific coast near Nakhodka. The
project is expected to be completed around 2008.
Putin also has pledged to expand the line to 50 mln metric tons a year,
or roughly 1.2 mln barrels a day, and to extend the pipe all the way to
the Pacific coast at some time in the future, the report said.
Putin also reiterated that Russia will continue to expand oil
production amid global worries about petroleum supplies. He played down
the slowdown in output growth over the past year, noting that, despite
problems at embattled giant OAO Yukos, Russian production has been
rising.
"Even without Yukos, oil production has increased and will continue to
increase," Putin was quoted as saying.
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Gasnor
awards land-based LNG liquefaction contract
09-09-2005
Hamworthy plc (HMY.L), a world leader in the design and manufacture of
innovative marine and offshore fluid handling systems, has won an order
for an unmanned land-based liquid natural gas (LNG) processing plant at
Kollsnes in the western coastal area of Norway. The contract,
worth in excess of £25 million, has been awarded by Gasnor the leading
Norwegian natural gas company.
This order demonstrates the increasing popularity of LNG as an energy
source and indicates a growing demand for land-based processing
facilities, particularly in localities where gas is available but where
there is no existing gas pipeline distribution system. The
plant at Kollsnes will use the same technology as employed on LNG
carriers for which Hamworthy has already won orders, but will be
approximately twice the capacity producing up to 84,000 tonnes of LNG
per year. However the plant, which will be delivered in
February 2007, will be small-scale compared to other land-based
distribution plants that liquefy natural gas directly from gas fields.
The plant will receive natural gas from the neighbouring Statoil North
Sea gas receiving terminal. Once the gas has been liquefied, it
will be distributed as LNG by road and via small coastal LNG carriers
for industrial customers based in Norway. In addition, the
liquefied LNG will provide fuel for five new Norwegian gas engine
ferries.
Hamworthy supplied its first fully functioning land-based liquefaction
system in 2003 for Gasnor at Snurrevarden, Norway. This unmanned
plant was Northern Europe´s first free-standing mini-LNG production
facility and is able to process up to 21,000 tonnes of LNG per
year. Erik Brinchmann, Chief Executive of Gasnor AS said:
"Gasnor´s experience with Hamworthy during the Snurrevarden project was
very positive, and was a contributing factor to this contract being
awarded.
he contract was also won on Hamworthy´s technical concept and competive
price. This new LNG plant confirms Gasnor´s position as the leading
Norwegian natural gas company." Kelvyn Derrick, Chief
Executive of Hamworthy plc said: "The first land-based LNG liquefaction
system at Snurrevarden allowed us to demonstrate our new technology in
a live environment. Its outstanding operational performance was
instrumental in securing this latest order from Gasnor, as well as
being crucial to Hamworthy becoming the world leader in small scale LNG
reliquefaction systems on LNG carriers. "There are emerging
opportunities for land-based applications as use of worldwide LNG
continues to grow and we are delighted by the confidence Gasnor have
shown by awarding this latest contract which positions us well for the
future."
For further information: Hamworthy plc Graham Lockyer, Tel: +44 (0)
1202 662 604, www.hamworthy.com Media enquiries: Abchurch
Henry Harrison-Topham / Ariane Comstive, Tel: +44 (0) 20 7398 7700
henry.ht@abchurch-group.com www.abchurch-group.com
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Brazil
Petrobras Gets License For Amazon Gas Pipeline
by Bernd Radowitz RIO DE JANEIRO, Sep 08, 2005 (Dow Jones
Commodities News Select via Comtex)
Brazil's Environmental Protection Agency Ibama said Thursday it granted
a unit of state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR), or
Petrobras, a license to start construction on a controversial gas
pipeline cutting through pristine Amazon forest.
Petrobras and environmentalists have quarreled since 2001 over the
planned 550-kilometer pipeline from the oil- and gas-producing region
of Urucu in the Amazon state of Amazonas southwest to Rondonia state
capital Porto Velho.
Petrobras through the pipeline plans to supply gas-fired power plants
in Porto Velho with gas from Urucu. The company currently re-injects
most of the 9.3 million cubic meters of natural gas it produces in
Urucu.
Ibama gave the license to the consortium TNG Participacoes Ltda. that
is controlled by Petrobras and has a minority participation of El Paso
Corp. (EP).
The license runs until September 2009, Ibama said in a statement. One
of the prerequisites for the license is for TNG Participacoes to
present a construction project that guarantees that there will be no
interference in national forests. Also, the company will have to
present a program to avoid diseases to spread from construction workers
to local Indian communities, and a program of environmental education
for workers.
Environmental NGOs have been criticizing the pipeline project for
years, arguing it would open a corridor into untouched rain forest that
is likely to attract thousands of illegal settlers and lumber loggers
and spoil the life of Indian tribes hitherto untouched by contact from
the outside world.
Brushing aside the criticism, Petrobras President Sergio Gabrielli on
Aug. 23 said Urucu "is an example of the balance between oil
exploration and the environment." The firm also produces some 60,000
barrels of high-quality light oil there.
Roberto Smeraldo, head of the Brazilian affiliate of Friends of the
Earth, however, said the transport of oil and gas through the Amazon
has a serious impact on the environment.
"Oil and gas transport is dangerous in any situation. In a fragile
ecosystem, this danger becomes even more intense," he said in August.
It was not immediately clear on Thursday afternoon whether
environmental groups would try to overturn the Ibama decision in courts.
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